Annealing-furnace.



No. 876,182. PATENTED JAN. '7, 1908. J. A. HERRIOK.

3 SHEBTSSHBET 1.

W Br 76 M F. M g M LTTORNEYJ PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908.

J. A. HERRICK. ANNEALING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.17.1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES 4 TT NEYJS No. 876,182. PATENTED JAN. '7, 1908. J. A. HERRICK.

ANNBALING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.17. 1905.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

WITNESSES IN YE IV TOR Jim 3. Jferrzbf,

76 x M ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES JAMES A. HERRIOK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ANNEALING-FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1908.

Application filed March 17. 1905- Serial No. 250.658.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES A. Human, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Annealing- Furnaces, of which the following 'is a specification.

The object of my invention is to effect the annealing of metal, in the form of wire,

strips or the like, more expeditiously and effectively than usual, and by the use of cheaper and simpler forms of a aratus than those now em loyed. This 0 ect I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference beinglhad tothe accompanying drawings, in whic Figure 1, is a longitudinal section of annealing apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, is a sectional plan view of the same on the line aa, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a transverse section upon the line b'-b, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, is an enlarged section of art of one end of the annealing retort; an Fig. 5, is a longitudinal section illustrating a special feature of my invention.

Hereafter, for convenience, I shall allude to the metal which is to be annealed as wire, intending this term to include not only wire strands but stripsor other forms of metal which are capable of being treated like wire.

According to the usual practice, coils of wire are passed slowly through a muffle or other annealing furnace, and after being suitably heated therein in a non-oxidizing atmos here, are thrown into water or other fluid or carried through the same by mechanical means. These coils are heavy and consequently difficult to handle, the require the employment of large an extensive muffles or retorts, and they can only be heated properly by exposure to the action of the muffle or retort for a considerable length of time, thus involving the expenditure of a large amount of fuel and incurring the danger of over-heating the wire at the outer rtion of the coil in an endeavor to raise t e temperature of the Wire at the inner portion of the coil to the required degree, this unevenness of temperature imparted to the different portionsof the wire resulting in a correspondingly uneven annealing, especially with fine wire or strips.

Besides the labor and special machinery required for treating the wire in bulk, the wire must, after annealing, be wound from the coils upon spools and must be cleaned continuously through a heated muflie or annealing furnace or retort containing a nonoxidizing atmosphere. The wire can then be passed through a suitable fluid bath or baths to complete the annealing and cleaning operations, and thence to a spool or spools suitably placed and power driven. Provision is thus afforded for locating any suitable mechanism for polishing, drawing, or the like between the bath and the spools upon which the wire is finally wound, so that the whole operation can be performed at once instead of necessarily comprising a number of separate and independent operations. as usual.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents a retort which may be made of any suitable refractory material and of any desired size and form, this retort bein so mounted in the furnace 2 thatthe ends of the retort are firmly supported upon and built into the end walls of the furnace, the retort being, if desired, supported at various oints throughout its length by the perforate walls 3 of refractory material, as shown in Fi 1, or instead of a single retort, a plurality oi the same may be used. At the front of the furnace structure are fire places 4 the products of combustion passing first over the to of the retort, thence down along one side of the same, thence across the bottom of the retort between the supporting walls 3, thence us along the opposite side of the retort, an thence through passages 5 and 6 to a discharge flue 7. veloped in the products of combustion, provision is afforded for uniformly heating the retort throughout its entire extent to any desired temperature without risk of overheating its contents or injuring them by di rect contact with the products of combustion. Instead of direct coal firing, any acceptable system of uniformly heating the retort 1 as by oil or gas, may be employed.

At the charging end of the retort is pro-.

vided a neck 8 with pipe 9, opening 10 and a series of nozzles 11. The ipe 9 is intended for the flow into or from t 1e retort of steam or other fluid which will serve to expel air from said retort and maintain a non-oxidizing atmosphere therein. The opening 10 is The retort being thus enpivoted door 23, having a peep hole 24.

provided with a pivoted valve or cover 12, aving a peep hole 13 therein, and each of the nozzles 11 is provided with a screw cap 14, with a receiving funnel 15, said ca serv ing to confine against the enlarged en of the nozzle 11 a washer 16 and a mass 17 of asbestos or other suitable refractory packing material, so that each nozzle provides for the introduction ofa wire into the retort without' risk of permitting inlet of air with the same.

Where a plurality of retorts are used, they may be small and each may have a single nozzle 11 at its receiving'end.

At the discharge end of the retort is a trough 20 and above the same a depending hood 21 the latter having an opening 22 ood is also provided with a pipe 25 for the inflow or outflowof steam'or other non-oxidizing fluid.

The trough 20 contains a supply of water or other liquid, and the lower edge of the hood 21 dips into the same so as to seal the delivery end of the retort, suitable rollers 26, 27 and 28-serving to so direct the wire in its passage from the retort that the same will be caused to pass through the liquid contained in the trough.

In the resent instance the central roller is containe in a slotted portion of the hood 21 so that it is under observation and is accessible at all times.

Adjacent'to the inlet end of the retort are a series of rotatable carriers 30 for the coils of wire, and adjacent to the sealed outlet end of the retort is a support for the spools '31 upon ing end of t which the wire is to be wound after being annealed, any suitable means of rotating these spools by power being employed. There is one of these s ools for each coil at the receiviie retort, the spools being so placed in respect to the coils that the respective wires can be drawn through the retort in substantially straight lines.

The 0 eration of the apparatus is as follows. he furnace being in operation and the retort 1. uniformly heated, steam or other suitable fluid is admitted to theretort so as to drive out the air therefrom and roduce a suitable non-oxidizing atmosp ere therein, and the ends of the various wires to be annealed are then, by means ofv suitable lead wires or in some other available way, drawn from the coils through the packed noz zles 11 and through the retort and its liquid seal. The ends of the wires are then connected to the spools 31 and rotative movement is imparted to the latter. As each strand of wire is drawn taut from one end of the retort to the other it is suspended clear within 'the retort, and being entirely surrounded by the highly heated steam or nonoxidizing fluid contained in the retort will be rapidly and uniformly heated, a shorter and smaller retort being usedfthan those required when the wire is treated in bulk as usual. If desired, a bed of charcoal or other slow burnin material may be placed on the bottom of t e retort below the Wires, so as to aid in maintaining a non-oxidizing atmosphere in the retort. Owing to the facility with which each strand of wire can be heated, said strands can be drawn rapidly throu h the retort, each heated strand being finalIy passed through the liquid in the sealed outlet of the retort and thence to the spool upon which it is wound, suitable cleaning, drawing, polishing or other devices be ing, if desired, interposed between the sealed end of the retort and-the spools, so as to combine any desired number of operations in one. the submerged roller 27 is located in a slot in the top of the hood 21, the wires passing under said roller are always under observation and can be kept a proper distance' apart, and, if desired, the sealing hood at the delivery end of the retort may be of preliminary cooling of the wire.

Different li uids, such for instance as lime water or pic ing solutions may be used as sealing liquids, or I may in some cases, pass the wire rst through'oil or other liquid and then through another liquid, such as .water. In such case the trough may be provided with two pans, such for instance, as shown at 32 and 33 in Fig. 5 and the hood .21 a may have two' depressions, one above each pan,

;the number of guide rolls being increased so as to cause the Wire to first dipmto the oil or other sealing liquid in the an 32 and then into the wateror other sea ing liquid in the pan 33, as'shown in Fig. 1.

The asbestos or other packing of the nozzle- 11, serves to remove from the wire grease scale or other foreign matter which may" adhere to the surface of the same, so that thewire enters the retort in the best condition for the action of the same.

I am aware that coils or other bodies of metal in bulk have'been carried by means of endless carriers through a retort and through a liquid sealing device at the delivery end of the retortor through such devices both at the delivery end-and at the receiving end of the retort, but my invention, besides being distinct from the previous devices in treating the wire or other material in the form of separate strands instead of in bulk needs-no conveying machinery whatever within the retort, the entire device being self contained and substantially automatic, and hence being susceptible of wider use in general practice than the devices heretofore known, and with which I am familiar. 4

Having thus described my invention, I

claim'and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination ofa heated retort having at the delivery end a seal containing a plurality of independent bodies of liquid.

' same, wlth means for passing one or more strands of wire through the retort and successively throu h the bodies of liquid with which said dupl ex seal is provided.

3. The combination of a heated retort having a liquid seal at the delivery end, means for causing a'wire or series of wires to pass throu h said retort and its seal, a slotted hood l or said seal, and a directing roller located in line with the slot in the hood of the seal.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES A. HERRICK.

Witnesses:

E. R. LoUGnEnY, Jos. H. KLEIN. 

